Scarf The Greens!

June 17, 2010Angela (Oh She Glows)

by Angela (Oh She Glows) on June 17, 2010

Hey guys!

Hope you are having a fabulous Thursday. I am trucking along and trying not to get too stressed out that I am really behind in my preparation for Saturday’s market. I had a few set backs this morning! I’m really hoping the clock ticks a bit slower from now until Saturday morning.

I thought I would show you what wonderful goodies arrived in this week’s CSA! We have a lot of SCARFING to do!

Eric and I both noticed that the volume of our half share has increased this week! Must be getting into the plentiful season!

We agreed it is impossible not to have a super clean diet when you have a CSA share. So many veggies to eat! Eric also said that he has noticed he has a lot more energy since eating less processed foods and more veggies. I think he is slowly discovering that good wholesome foods = happier Eric! I think when people make changes to their diet, they really have to experience the benefits first hand before they will believe it…

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All this produce looks simply amazing! And it shows in your lunch, too. I’m actually not a big fan of the smell/taste of basil… maybe I’m just not used to herbs? :SI don’t know what that veggie is, either! Anybody want to help out, here? :D

I LOVE fresh basil in everything… (my DOG is named Basil) I put it in my sandos all the time :)

YES plant it :) you can put it right in the ground if you have some good soil… or in a pot / planter. our basil lasts well into October, last year November, and I LOVE going outside and picking a few leaves for whatever I’m doing … :)

I am stumped on this one… I’ll look forward to what others say! :) Have a fabulous day, don’t stress, you’ll do it!

I’m almost positive that’s red kale. If so, it’s delicious in a white bean/veggie soup. As for fresh basil… how have you been living without it, girl?! Try adding a handful of leaves to a green smoothie– it adds great zing. :)

Not entirely sure but the greens look like a beet green, though not 100% the leaf is different from what I have had.

The rest of the produce looks amazing and basil..oh be still my heart. I always keep a plant on my window sill in the kitchen for using while cooking! I am no green thumb either but it is not hard to care for either.

Those apples look like they’re sooooo crispy and sweet! Your CSA greens look amazing – I really wish I could buy into one, but I move around too much and I’m not sure I’d be able to eat it all by my lonesome anyway :(

I never knew that there was an organic market in Oakville, but I might be passing through this weekend so hopefully I can get a chance to stop by and try out your Glo Bars, and maybe grab some org veggies while I’m there :)

It looks like the kale that I received in my CSA box yesterday. (I also got garlic scapes!) It was my first pickup and luckily the farm that I get it from sends out an e-mail explaining what everything is. I have never had this type of kale, but I made kale chips with it last night and they were the best batch that I have ever made. I was so excited!

I love basil on sandwiches. If you weren’t vegan, i would recommend having some on a mozzarella sandwich!. I wonder what the vegan equivalent of mozzarella is? If there is such a thing, try it with that! It’s delightful.

Hm… and I’d been thinking they were dandelion greens because of the spikey-ness. :)

Aren’t tiny strawberries the best? I lived in Germany for awhile and though I’d died and gone to heaven with all their fabulous, tiny, tasty strawberries. Sadly, even the organic ones at my grocery stores in Canada have been the size of my head! It just seems unnatural…

I wish I could get a CSA delivery of just those strawberries. I’m dying for real, from-the-farm strawberries. Oh, and totally plant the basil. I don’t have a green thumb in the least and my basil is turning into a tree. Plus, it’s on my balcony without a lot of sun. I don’t think you can kill it.

Produce overload! If I got that I don’t know how I would get through it all in a week! Im glad that Eric is realising the benefits of all those veggies, they are certain better than processed foods. I hope you feel like you have got somewhere today with your market prep, I so know the feeling of wanting the time to go slowly.

Fresh basil is the BEST yum yum. No need to plant it, unless you wanted to grow it, but they keep the dirt/roots on it like that because it’ll stay fresh longer. I buy it like that at one of the health food stores we shop at. You guys should do a pizza thing with fresh basil, tomatoes and garlic scape! That combination is to DIE for (although I’ve only had it with actual garlic, but I’m sure the scapes would be awesome too) :)

Your produce looks awesome! My husband and I get a local organic CSA here in Charleston, SC and it is amazing to see what you are getting right now compared to what we are getting here. Right now we are getting: heirloom tomatoes, baby cucumbers, yellow squash, eggplant, lime basil, baby red potatoes, peppers, tomatillos, garlic, pole beans, and I think that was it for the week. It is so hot here that all of our leafy greens are done for the season. :( Isn’t it amazing how you feel if you are only eating what is “in season”?

I am going to have to say that your “mystery green” is kale. There are so many varieties of it. It holds up pretty well in the fridge for a while too. We were given so much that I think we had it for two weeks and it never turned. I absolutely loved mine when we were getting it. I made kale chips out of it as well as chopped it up and stuck it on top of pizza. So DELISH!

I have to say hummus & fresh basil is one of my favorite combinations! so delicious! The only sad part is that every time i buy fresh basil is goes bad very quickly, more so than any other fresh herbs :( still yummy though! :)

Wow, those veggies look incredible! I love your sense of creativity in the kitchen- so inspiring. I’m looking forward to seeing what other creations you’ll concoct with the garlic scapes :)
That basil looks awesome, I’m like you though, I couldn’t keep a plant alive if my life depended on it. It’s gotten to the point where I’ve given up because it’s not fair to the plants!

One of the blogs I read just got a little basil bundle like that, with the roots in a bundle, at their Farmer’s Market. The person who sold it to her said to put it in a pot of water to keep it fresh while you use it. Im going to give that a try, because basil will not grow for me and I have quite the green thumb. Its so embarrassing! I just killed my 3rd basil plant so far this summer. Boo!

It’s Red Russian Kale – I have grown it in my garden for the past couple years. It doesn’t make as good of kale chips as Curly leaf kale does, but it is great in stir fries and green monsters.

I would have sworn for years that I had a black thumb, but I’ve been a gardening machine the last couple years. I just decided one year that with the amount of veggies I eat, I HAD to grow my own! Starting from seeds is hard though – I recommend getting some baby plants at a nursery and growing those. Herbs are easy to keep inside that way!

CSA is such a good idea! I wonder if there is even something like that in Calgary?
For the herb (or any other kind of veggie, herb, lettuce of some sort), you can plant it, or put it in water, or just leave it. That stuff will last forever (or until you eat it all) I swear! At the market I work at, it is one of the most commonly asked questions.

Yum! That produce looks awesome – I need to look into getting some kind of CSA share! I’m hoping (and praying, and crossing all fingers and toes) that my fiance will begin to like eating REAL foods after we get married. Did it take Eric a while to get used to it?

hey! Just found your blog off of Jenny’s, it looks great! It’s a real inspiration to see that although you struggled, you pulled through and live a great life! I’ll be checking back more often :)
and those strawberries are SO cute- so tiny!!!
-Lisa

Fresh basil is amazing! I throw it on everything, salads, pasta (obviously), sandwiches, garnish soups, stirfries, EVERYTHING!
My favorite thing to do with basil is make brushetta by chopping up tomatoes, a few olives, loads of basil, and garlic (optional, I am not always in the mood for raw garlic but just a tad goes a long way), mix in a drizzle of quality olive oil, salt and pepper. I eat it on salad in place of dressing but it is delicious as a topper for bread or crackers (or rice, quinoa, pasta…).

Hi,
If you like basil try adding some along with lemon to couscous or quinoa. It gives it a light springy taste and is really good! Sometimes I do black beans, quionoa, lemon, basil and add other herbs around the house.

first time commenter here, but i read quite often…..had to comment on your mystery green, because…I grow it!! :) it is a variety of Kale and it is an heirloom variety…I get my seeds for it directly through the “Seed Savers Exchange” which is an heirloom seed sharing company.

You should use some of your basil to make this AMAZING Avocado Pesto Pasta. I made it recently, but used toasted walnuts instead of pine nuts (because they are so freakin’ expensive) and I added a bit of baby spinach to cut some of the strong basil flavor. I can’t even tell you how good it is except that you want to lick your plate clean. I could not have imagined a pesto would be so good without cheese, but I was shocked….and so was my family, who are still meat-eaters! Also try it in wraps with hummus and veggies or spread on top of a vegan pizza with veggies. This pesto will blow you away!

You can put that basil right in a pot or in the ground and I assure you it will grow wonderfully and give you many glorious meals! I wish I was local to you and could check out your stuff at the market :(

Nothing beats fresh basil. I planted 7 basil plants this year! If you can’t eat it all, be sure to let it dry out and then crumble it to use when needed. It is amazing compared to store bought dried basil!

I find it comical that your CSA gives you mystery greens for your blog readers to identify :) Mine gives out a nice newsletter with each box including a list of what’s inside and some recipes. Mystery greens could be kinda fun though. I was going to predict that you’ll fall in love with putting fresh basil in everything, but it seems that you already have!

Eee, I hope it’s not too late to sign up for a CSA by the time I get to TO. My roommies and I are already pumped about it!! Which says a lot really, thankfully I’m living with people who get excited about vegetables too ;)